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I recently took a six question quiz on the website Everyday Health
to determine if I have adult ADHD. The quiz was written by
“Psychcentral Staff” and included questions such as “When you have a
task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you avoid or delay
getting started?” And “How often do you feel overly active and compelled
to do things, like you were driven by a motor?” I answered honestly,
and got this result: “ADHD may be likely.” I have never been diagnosed
with ADHD, I am generally focused and calm and no one would ever
describe me as hyper. After reading my results, however, I had my
doubts. Or maybe I wanted to have my doubts; wouldn’t it be nice to have
a condition which would allow me, after receiving the right diagnosis
and medication, to miraculously make new friends, get better grades,
finish projects, and have among my similarly-diagnosed peers people like
Adam Levine, lead singer for Maroon 5?According to the CDC, childhood diagnoses of ADHD have risen
from 600,000 in 1990 to 3.5 million today and 15 percent of high school
age kids are diagnosed with ADHD. These numbers represent “a national
disaster of dangerous proportions,” according to Dr. Keith Conners, a
long time proponent of recognizing and destigmatizing ADHD. Despite the
numbers, Dr. Conners says that there is no ADHD epidemic. Instead, “This
is a concoction to justify the giving out of medication at
unprecedented and unjustifiable levels.”

Every single major ADHD medication has been in trouble with the FDA for misleading advertising, some more than once.

Pharmaceutical
companies have spent the past two decades engaging in aggressive and
sneaky marketing that has included diagnosis- and drug-pushing doctors,
playing on parents’ fears, and involving schools in the effort to
attract, diagnose, and treat kids who suffer (or who appear to suffer)
from ADHD. Ads for ADHD medication targeting parents feature headlines
such as “Reveal his potential,” and “Thanks for taking out the garbage.”
One ad has a hand-drawn picture of a kid and in large, childish
writing, states: “Today I got a good mark. And made a new friend. What a
great day!” In one particularly manipulative ad, a cheerful mom appears
under the headline “I am not a bad mom;” the mom explains that her
son’s school was ready to throw him out if his behavior continued. After
taking the ADHD medication, however, her son “has become a thousand
times better" and she has presumably been exonerated from bad
motherhood.Every single major ADHD medication has been in trouble with the FDA for misleading advertising, some more than once.ADHD medications are marketed to doctors by psychopharmacology experts such as Dr. Joseph Biederman,
a Harvard University child psychiatrist who is a huge proponent of
stimulant medication to treat ADHD. Dr. Biederman also believes that the
disorder is significantly underdiagnosed, and that failure to medicate
will almost certainly cause risks as serious as drug dependence and
problems with the law. As an example of Dr. Biederman’s enthusiastic
support of stimulant medication for ADHD, in 2006 he told Reuters
Health, “If a child is brilliant but is doing just OK in school, that
child may need treatment, which would result in their performing
brilliantly at school.” According to the marketing efforts aimed at
doctors, much of which has been based on findings from Biederman’s
research, ADHD drugs will “allow your patients to experience life’s
successes every day.” One brochure for Adderall XR contains the
remarkable statement that “Amphetamines have been used medically for
nearly 70 years. That’s a legacy of safety you can count on.”A Senate investigation in 2008 found that Dr. Biederman’s research was largely funded by drug companies, including Shire,
the manufacturer of many of the leading ADHD medications. He was also
paid $1.6 million for speaking and consulting. Dr. Biederman denies that
the money had any effect on his research.The more insidious marketing efforts are the ones that are not obvious. The main advocacy group for people with ADHD is CHADD (Children
and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). CHADD was
started in 1987 with the goal of bringing more attention to ADHD and its
treatment. According to the group’s website, CHADD was founded “in
response to the frustration and sense of isolation experienced by
parents and their children with ADHD. At that time, one could turn to
very few places for support or information. Many people seriously
misunderstood ADHD. Many clinicians and educators knew little about the
disability, and individuals with ADHD were often mistakenly labeled ‘a
behavior problem,’ ‘unmotivated,’ or ‘not intelligent enough.’” CHADD
offers advocacy, support, and a CDC-funded clearinghouse for
“evidence-based information about ADHD.” They put out a magazine called Attention with articles such as “What’s in a Parent’s ADHD Tool Box?”

Pharmaceutical
companies know what they’re doing: in 2012, sales of stimulants reached
almost $9 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2002.

I checked the website's funding, and found no mention of the fact that the group was started with seed money from Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals, the primary manufacturer of ADHD drug Ritalin.
Furthermore, the drug company provided funds to create “fact sheets”
about treatment, one of which claimed: “Psychostimulant drugs are not
addictive.”CHADD has also lobbied the DEA to loosen government
restrictions on stimulants and has worked on an educational video about
ADHD with the Department of Education. The 11 main sponsors for CHADD’s
12th annual conference in 2000 were all drug companies. Shire led the
pack, and was also revealed to have paid $3 million so that CHADD’s
magazine, “Attention” would be delivered to doctors’ offices across the
country.Perhaps the most deceptive—and saddest—marketing efforts are the ones aimed at children. “What’s Up with Astra?”
is a comic book about a girl who has trouble with school and friends
because of her inability to focus or stay still. Fortunately, a group of
superhero medical experts called “the Medikidz” show up to tell Astra
that she has ADHD. They explain how the disorder works in her brain, and
introduce her to “Nora and Dopey,” who teach her how she can treat her
ADHD.The Medikidz were
created by two pediatricians who were frustrated by the lack of
child-friendly resources available to explain medical conditions. In
addition to ADHD, the comic books deal with diseases and disorders
including brain tumors, cancer, and allergies. According to their
website, “Credibility is the cornerstone to the Medikidz offering -
professional medical writers and doctors write all the content, which is
subsequently peer-reviewed by leading consultants in each respective
field. Medikidz also gains the endorsement of established and
well-regarded medical institutions, foundations and spokespeople.” According to the New York Times
investigation, however, credibility may not be such a strong
cornerstone for Medikidz, at least in the case of the ADHD comics. Shire
paid to have them produced. From the comic: “Medicines may make it
easier to pay attention and control your behavior!”Drug makers
also enlist schools to help with their recruitment. Diagnoses are almost
too easy when resources such as the American Psychiatric Association
include criteria for ADHD such as “makes careless mistakes” or “often
has difficulty waiting his or her turn.” The New York Times
article describes the case of Andy Perry, a rambunctious child from
Mercer Island. Andy’s public school teachers recommended to Andy’s
parents that he be evaluated for ADHD and medicated with Ritalin. The
school psychologist gave Andy’s mother a pamphlet which included the
statement: “Parents should be aware that these medicines do not ‘drug’
or ‘alter’ the brain of the child. They make the child ‘normal.’” Later,
Andy’s parents noticed the Ciba-Geigy logo on the back of the pamphlet.
The school acknowledged that the pamphlets had been provided to them by
representatives from the drug company.Andy Parry was on Ritalin
for three years even though, according to his father, he never had
ADHD.“Somebody came up with this idea, which was genius. I definitely
felt seduced and enticed. I’d say baited,” Andy’s father told The Times.Pharmaceutical
companies know what they’re doing: in 2012, sales of stimulants reached
almost $9 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2002.